Current:Home > FinanceTennessee bill untangling gun and voting rights restoration advances, but faces uncertain odds-LoTradeCoin
Tennessee bill untangling gun and voting rights restoration advances, but faces uncertain odds
View Date:2025-01-13 17:09:10
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee residents convicted of felonies can apply to vote again without restoring their gun rights under a bipartisan bill that faces some GOP skepticism as it advances late this session.
The effort by Democratic Rep. Antonio Parkinson and Republican Sen. Paul Bailey to untangle the two rights has cleared early hurdles but several remain in the annual session’s expected final weeks.
The proposal seeks to undo restrictions established in July, when election officials interpreted a state Supreme Court ruling as requiring people convicted of felonies to get their full citizenship rights restored by a judge, or show they were pardoned, before they can apply for reinstated voting rights. In January, the elections office confirmed that voting rights restoration would also require getting back gun rights.
Since July, officials have approved 12 applications to restore voting rights and denied 135, according to the secretary of state’s office. In the seven months before, about 200 people were approved and 120 denied.
Voting rights advocates have argued the elections office’s legal interpretations have been way off-base. A group of Democratic state lawmakers has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate. And a lawsuit over Tennessee’s restoration process has been ongoing for years.
The bill would allow a judge to restore someone’s right to vote separate from other rights, including those regarding guns, serving on a jury, holding public office and certain fiduciary powers.
People who have paid their debt to society should get some rights back, especially to vote, Baily said.
“We want to clear that up,” he said.
In Tennessee, felonies involving drugs or violence specifically remove someone’s gun rights, and high-level action such as a pardon by a governor is needed to restore their voting rights.
The gun issue adds to an existing, complicated list of disqualifying felonies that differ depending on conviction date.
Expungement offers a separate path to restore voting rights, but many felonies are ineligible.
Tennessee had established a process under a 2006 law for people convicted of a felony to petition for the restoration of their voting rights. It allows them to seek restoration if they can show they have served their sentences and do not owe outstanding court costs or child support. An applicant wouldn’t have to go to court or get a governor’s pardon.
Now, applicants must get their citizenship rights back and complete the old process.
John Weare, a U.S. Navy veteran, told a House subcommittee Wednesday he has a decades-old aggravated assault charge in another state that eliminated his gun rights. He said he had been pursuing voting rights restoration for four years when the elections office decided he needs his gun rights back, too.
Weare, a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging voting rights restoration in Tennessee, said not being able to vote has made him feel like a “non-American.”
“I’m asking you to support this bill allowing me the chance to vote according to my conservative Christian values that I hold dear,” Weare said, ”and allowing me to be an active participant in my community and to be part of the democratic process, for which I served my country to protect, and which makes our country so great.”
But the bill’s odds are uncertain. Some prominent Republicans have been skeptical.
When asked if changes to the system were needed, House Majority Leader William Lamberth has previously said, “My advice is don’t commit a felony.”
Senate Speaker Randy McNally told The Associated Press early this year he would prefer even tougher restrictions. Republican Gov. Bill Lee has expressed openness to voting rights restoration reforms, but has said he thinks lawmakers should lead on potential changes.
Some Republican dissenters have said they’d rather lump it into a broad study of citizenship rights laws and a bill proposing changes next year.
“This entire code needs to be rewritten from top to bottom,” Lamberth told reporters Friday.
veryGood! (79357)
Related
- Utah AD Mark Harlan fined $40,000 for ripping referees and the Big 12 after loss to BYU
- Pruitt’s Anti-Climate Agenda Is Facing New Challenge From Science Advisers
- African scientists say Western aid to fight pandemic is backfiring. Here's their plan
- Chase Sui Wonders Shares Insight Into Very Sacred Relationship With Boyfriend Pete Davidson
- How to protect your Social Security number from the Dark Web
- Chase Sui Wonders Shares Insight Into Very Sacred Relationship With Boyfriend Pete Davidson
- Coastal Real Estate Worth Billions at Risk of Chronic Flooding as Sea Level Rises
- 6-year-old boy shoots infant sibling twice after getting hold of a gun in Detroit
- Video shows Starlink satellite that resembled fireball breaking up over the Southwest: Watch
- Regulators Pin Uncontrolled Oil Sands Leaks on Company’s Extraction Methods, Geohazards
Ranking
- Daniele Rustioni to become Metropolitan Opera’s principal guest conductor
- New omicron subvariants now dominant in the U.S., raising fears of a winter surge
- CVS and Walgreens announce opioid settlements totaling $10 billion
- Urgent Climate Action Required to Protect Tens of Thousands of Species Worldwide, New Research Shows
- Diamond Sports Group can emerge out of bankruptcy after having reorganization plan approved
- Regulators Pin Uncontrolled Oil Sands Leaks on Company’s Extraction Methods, Geohazards
- Teen Activists Worldwide Prepare to Strike for Climate, Led by Greta Thunberg
- Jewelry chain apologizes for not accepting U.S. service member's Puerto Rico driver's license as valid U.S. ID
Recommendation
-
Nicky Hilton Shares Her Christmas Plans With Paris, the Secret To Perfect Skin & More Holiday Gift Picks
-
California voters enshrine right to abortion and contraception in state constitution
-
Environmental Group Alleges Scientific Fraud in Disputed Methane Studies
-
Get a $49 Deal on $110 Worth of Tarte Makeup That Blurs the Appearance of Pores and Fine Lines
-
Knicks Player Ogugua Anunoby Nearly Crashes Into Anne Hathaway and Her Son During NBA Game
-
New VA study finds Paxlovid may cut the risk of long COVID
-
Regulators Pin Uncontrolled Oil Sands Leaks on Company’s Extraction Methods, Geohazards
-
Her miscarriage left her bleeding profusely. An Ohio ER sent her home to wait